South Carolina Tiger Shark May Be the Biggest Ever Tagged on the East Coast [PICS]

A giant tiger shark tagged by researchers off Hilton Head Island, South Carolina may be “the biggest tiger shark ever tagged by anybody on the East Coast.”

The quote comes from Captain Chip Michalove of the charter vessel Outcast, a sportfishing boat used to capture this enormous tiger shark.

The 1,200-pound tiger shark measured 12 feet, 2 inches long. It is said to be two times the size of normal tiger sharks in the area especially considering the area where it was captured was so close to shore.

The shark has been named Chessie after the Chechessee River that empties into the Port Royal Sound. The huge shark was brought to the side of the boat after a two-hour battle and tagged by South Carolina Department of Natural Resources researcher Bryan Frazier.

Tiger sharks can grow up to 14 feet long and are second only to great white sharks in number of reported attacks on people, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History. Chessie is one of over a dozen sharks tagged around the world by the non-profit ocean research group OCEARCH.

According to Captain Michalove:

We’ve never had a tiger shark attack in the Carolinas and as close as they are, that shows we’re not on the menu.